Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Receives $214.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $214.50.

WCN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Waste Connections from $224.00 to $211.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. William Blair began coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of WCN traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $186.99. 1,632,204 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,140,806. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $169.36 and a 52 week high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a PE ratio of 75.40, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.46.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.87% and a net margin of 6.97%. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.85%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 37.3% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 89.5% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 288 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 19.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,069 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,379,000 after buying an additional 1,137 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 41.0% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 19,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,843,000 after buying an additional 5,733 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 6.3% in the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 28,458 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,555,000 after buying an additional 1,682 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.